The science lab hadn’t been officially used in months — the windows were cracked, the wiring unstable, and the door only locked from the inside. Which made it perfect.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLvWZneQBd
Mary adjusted the lens on the UV lamp, flicking the toggle back and forth until the bulb buzzed to life with a dull purple glow.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAw3oT8loFr
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEhvePFM7l
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgLNpXrvy9
So Mary did. At first, nothing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcc25QxvJ3D
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0qJxIM4rr
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmn6RRopJw
A floor plan. 50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI6pxkqlxG
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHL41el6I3O
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnphyg3XQMb
The map showed multiple levels: A narrow tunnel from the borehole curving beneath the dining wing. Level two: The greenhouse access route — confirmed. Level three: A set of interlocking service paths ending in a room marked by a circle and the letters:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtR8vTFCeW4
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYBZvk27Vt
Mary’s breath caught.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdFcm99pW4
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAtr7NWBzK
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOPf9yNbbd
“No one dared,” Mary replied.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLi3dUHzOyE
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG87COE9QpS
“Begin from what you buried.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLnlnyYhpt
— M.O.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0Ap4VdjnH
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIOjQyXDqE
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwb1q5xO769
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6cPFiANbA
Naomi had restored her badge. Reinforced their place in the Order. Offered peace. But what Mercy offered now was truth. Not orderly. Not safe. But real.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YBsmG831p
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhLgml1BKm
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhUPn8t0Fv
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FmSjJnrwr
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9zpnrmPqp
The bench under the jacaranda had become her quiet spot — the only place where questions didn’t buzz in her ears. The petals drifted down like soft ink, blanketing her shoulder, the pages of her notebook, even the edges of her thoughts.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEEjlhUTVT
June broke the silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeqGHjcu06
“You were right about her.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpf5TCFvhUk
Kim turned. “Mercy?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuwyaWnLM2
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznbUCL6aLR
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hRonBzlRu
June didn’t answer at first. She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a slip of folded paper — not the blueprint itself, but a tracing she’d made in secret, away from Mary, away from Naomi. On it: the outline of the chapel. And beneath it — the crypt, marked in Mercy’s faint symbol: M.O., crossed by three vertical lines.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oIDI4HcFQ
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSHoVV0Ho1
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLZUZJ4gOq
“Dead sure. She means to draw them there. Naomi, the others. And seal it. Not physically — symbolically. Shame them. Expose what they covered up about the tunnels, the Walkers, her expulsion. All of it.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotPd2eblOz
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sIHAJpXrE
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCGsLQwEWq
June leaned forward.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAvqTASdiu
“You’re not in the Order. You’re not on anyone’s side. But you’ve seen more than most — and you don’t scare easy.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cgX9FLY1z
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBQGq7npli
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoS5fYA5Ji7
June paused, then added softly:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NolEDjwPp
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyg4rQx4SRO
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpzSHI5KXv
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVN16R4gKI
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRBJdOAgz0
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeYOywlroR
June nodded once.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiloKiDy3TH
“Better me than them.”
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKNI6w9YHI
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qYabZ19fk
She didn’t slam her locker or call Kim’s name. She just stood there, leaning against the doorway like someone who had waited long enough for the exact moment to arrive.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeqjCuD4v3
“You’ve been busy.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZfARAdSEU
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeTKsEAsQC
“So have you.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxqy4OCP2y
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJdD6cl8Cr
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweZZy7CmF6
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wQP6VX9S5
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBgL1ap9pQ
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwWuG4sAJu
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLePhQWxc0
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUeQkQX5Pm
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQphZ3I3qOm
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTeIx3AXdo
That stopped her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLLRyVkl2Y
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1H34W3zShO
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOR0n33Nfm
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsexeJSz5iU
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmJ4ZAToD5
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccTxA7JBZ6
“You help me shut this down — expose Mercy, burn the tunnels, force Naomi to act — and you’ll get the truth about what Juma’s really doing when he says he’s ‘off-grid.’”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMi958x7l4
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUUmPlTGNG
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVACr1LXDH
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwecyQ0Hun
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURbjDsgwxj
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIE6nhV8BNw
There was no envelope.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl60J6GN8d
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6nBRmID6M
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBCt0DgMvb
Inside, a short message:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiCnZyd8Ie
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsarGdaQeb
— S50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMsgF0QRWR
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDKeS8d0vT
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBBjiWLOeD
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgA2W4q4fxZ
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnzC3WfmW8
She wasn’t alone.
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBgbBhPopJ
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhnS5XDOrd
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VD3R6hcWr
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwE8wtM8INU
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiA1DQvXaNH
Mary blinked. “Why?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjZhhTdK8w
Naomi held up the clipboard. “Cited: potential risk of chemical interactions. Some of these lamps are over a decade old. Filaments cracking. Possible mercury leaks.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcm0UF0U9FM
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3q1bJnC5d4
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBmt4H83u9
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwExf8akWS3
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6NgMxWR7v
Naomi didn’t glance at the blueprint folder tucked beneath Mary’s stack of textbooks — but her silence was surgical. Her eyes landed on it. Briefly. Knowing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85lSknv1Uw
Then she turned to go.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEuHOvnVpQ
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lYor84yom
The door clicked shut behind her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpXFGN9wLI
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45hkMoiIL6
“She knows,” she whispered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADb0iG7wsu
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH938soZ0c5
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiDFUAAQa9
June exhaled.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqOALk8k1N
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJ3oe6jlNT
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnr7mlCK4oR
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKPHIKVosO
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwo5I0BZSXE
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yd4a3NZqz
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dt6IaTYsF
Juma stepped forward. “You’re walking into a trap. Mercy isn’t just planting symbols — she’s turning them into a net. And Naomi doesn’t see it.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHjVVoKUCL
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EyBq5QMfh
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUVgRUJFLp
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLNNwsDCl8
“Then let’s collapse it before she does.”
Beneath the science wing on the girls’ side, Kim and Shiko crouched behind the old reagent shed.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxsPrgI956
Shiko passed her the flashlight. “If the crypt’s real, it has to open from somewhere near the annex sub-basement. The original plans placed the drain gate there.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwrFA4oI3C
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkd5OJxw9vU
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnZpPk69Xo
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ921cYIs052
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyJppc0ayY
Someone was planning to stop it.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGI7jtFtSk
They were just making sure someone else survived it.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡus9OA5WANc
At 12:06 a.m., while students at the science demo lit hydrogen bubbles and experimented with heat coils, four shadows moved in four separate arcs: Jabari and Juma, slipping behind the stage, through the external water tank corridor. Kim and Shiko, looping behind the incinerator shed toward the chapel annex. Mercy, already beneath the chapel, lighting her candle, placing the final lock in the metal gate.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OpNLlyBlZ
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeodntVx7zV
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOA1tjW7Hr
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYeLJm9V3i
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzw1AD14zGU
The glyph for “complete.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCc8hin0dV
Mercy had finished the sequence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50j6oJ6GzN
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzphGPBcvy0
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XBvWZPs8S
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryy11Zepbg
A door opened.
